Broadcom Enables Industry's First 20 nm 100G Coherent PHY

NTT Electronics Leverages Broadcom's Analog IP and Process Technology to Drive Next Generation Coherent Pluggable Optical Modules

IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 22, 2014 -- Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), a global innovation leader in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications, today announced that its high performance 20 nanometer (nm) signal processing enhanced mixed signal technologies has enabled NTT Electronics' new NLD0640 100G coherent digital signal processor (DSP) — an industry first. Optimized for use in 100G-and-beyond optical fiber communication systems, the Broadcom-enabled coherent physical layer transceiver (PHY) consumes less than half the power of existing long-haul coherent ICs and expands the use of coherent technology to metro and shorter reach links.

Designed in collaboration with NTT Electronics (NEL), the low-power 100G coherent PHY allows the use of a DSP within lower power and smaller second generation coherent 100G modules, including C form factor pluggable (CFP) and compact CFP2 analog coherent optical (ACO) modules. Featuring Broadcom's best-in-class 65GS/s 8-bit ADC and DAC IP with advanced features such as digital signal enhanced performance, NEL's 100G coherent PHY optimizes power and performance in both long-haul and metro applications.

According to industry analyst firm Infonetics Research, the demand for 100G optical transceivers is growing rapidly as carriers aggressively roll out the new technology. Infonetics predicts that over the next few years, short and intermediate metro reach interfaces will make up a larger proportion of revenue as the technology moves from service provider to much higher volume data center and enterprise applications.¹

The exponential increase in design complexity in today's system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions combined with product differentiation and time-to-market pressures has led OEM manufacturers to rely on Broadcom's custom IC services. Leveraging one of the most extensive networking, mixed signal, and high speed interface IP portfolios and proven time-tested design methodology, Broadcom provides a more reliable path to production, thus avoiding costly multiple chip spins and/or schedule delays.

"Our collaboration with NTT Electronics has resulted in a game-changing product optimized to deliver the economies of scale and flexibility needed for wide-scale adoption and rapid deployment of 100G over fiber optic networks," said Lorenzo Longo, Broadcom Vice President and General Manager, Physical Layer Products. "Our industry leading 20-nm signal processing enhanced mixed-signal technologies and A0 silicon execution has allowed NEL to substantially reduce power consumption while meeting stringent time to market requirements."

"We are strongly committed to pioneering innovation in the coherent DSP market through our robust partnership with Broadcom," said Haruhiko Ichino, NEL Executive Vice President and General Manager of Broadband System & Device Business Group. "Our novel LP-DSP has already been shipped to more than ten customers, who are designing their product families. We look forward to deployment of our product in early 2015 thereby providing value to the end customers by maximizing the number of 100G ports per system."

Availability

The NLD0640 100G coherent DSP is now available from NTT Electronics.

Resources

¹ Infonetics 10G/40G/100G Optical Transceivers: WW Market Size and Forecasts Oct 2013.

About Broadcom

Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), a FORTUNE 500® company, is a global leader and innovator in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications. Broadcom® products seamlessly deliver voice, video, data and multimedia connectivity in the home, office and mobile environments. With the industry's broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art system-on-a-chip solutions, Broadcom is changing the world by connecting everything®. For more information, go to www.broadcom.com.